(If you like, you can skip down through the prose and go straight to the pictures below!)

Neither bright sun, blue skies, perfect wind nor a freezing start kept your intrepid Islander 36 sailors from appropriately kicking off a New Year of sailing on San Francisco Bay. Storm force cold winds downed trees and closed roads going into New Year's Eve, and that apparently greatly reduced the number of boats participating this year, including Islanders, but the story still has a happy ending.

Thanks to Smokey & Laurie Stover calling for all hands aboard Evanescence at 0900 you've got a story. Commodore Van Mell called Smokey on 12/30 to report a Weather Mutiny as Sandy was not up to moving Vanishing Animal in the wind and staying aboard in freezing weather. Could we volunteer as crew on (Sandy's favorite Freeport 36) Evanescence? "Yep." So we showed up at Fortman Marina and cast off at 0930.

However, Fantasy declared discression as the better part of valor and stayed home. Tim Bussiek and Califia were also signed up, but several calls were unable to reach them. We'll add their adventures if they made it out on the water.

Evanescence cleanly cleared the three bridges all alone, with just one other boat half a mile ahead. We tied up in an Aeolian Yacht Club slip by 1000 and enjoyed their wonderful chili, cornbread, Bloody & Virgin Marys and Mimosas all by 1030. We cleared the last bridge and snuck around Bay Farm Island into deep water by 1110. Setting main and jib we had a glorious sail on the Bay in 10 - 12 knots of wind.

We sailed slowly back into the Estuary and saw Luna Sea with Rob & Ruby Blenderman joining Dan Knox and his guests. And farther on saw Renaissance of Tahoe Vista. Once back at Encinal YC, we saw Charles & Kathryn Hodgkin's Mischief (they had been there earlier, but headed home fighting a cold.) And, on their way home, Rick & Sandy Van Mell stopped at Brisbane Marina to pump Vanishing Animal's bilge and run the engine for the New Year.

So in total, we spied 9 folks representing 5 Islanders starting off the 'Round Alameda Parade in style.

It's called various names: " 'Round The Island Parade"; " 'Round Alameda Parade"; or just the New Year's Day Island Circumnavigation. There's talk of visiting "all six yacht clubs", and "getting your circumnavigation" certificate. But, whatever the name, it can be great fun when conditions are right. Despite being able to find just about anything on the Internet these days, even going to individual yacht club web sites don't fill in the picture very much.

For those that have not been there before, let's start with some basics. Alameda, CA is actually an island, just west of Oakland, separated by the Oakland Estuary. While the Estuary, particularly at it's entrance, is wide and deep enough for 1000' container ships, when it narrows at it's eastern end where three bridges connect it to Oakland, it's quite narrow and getting shallow fast. At the southeastern end, at San Leandro Bay, it's connected to Bay Farm Island - where Oakland Airport is located - by a 4th bridge. Going west from there into San Francisco Bay, there is an unmarked tidal slough that has 6-8 feet of water in a very narrow band and then a stretch of 2-4' of water to cross into the Bay itself. It's about 15.5 miles around the Island. Here's what it looks like on the chart:

Alameda - Overview

Alameda - Bay Farm

Alameda -Little channel

As you can see, there's not enough water to take 6' of draft out into San Francisco Bay at low tide. At least 5' of tide is necessary, so that's the first requirement for a successful New Year's Day 'Round Alameda parade! This year the tide was not particularly favorable for the complete circle as there was a minus tide by 1500 hours making it almost impossible for an I-36 to get out over the flats west of Bay Farm Island after noon, but, as noted above, a bunch of Islanders made it!